


Who Are You Really

by Nomimoss



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-09
Updated: 2013-08-28
Packaged: 2017-12-18 05:33:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/876186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nomimoss/pseuds/Nomimoss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shy, socially awkward Lydia pines after the seemingly shy and quiet Isaac Lahey. She actually thinks she might have a shot at him until she notices a change in him after the mysterious death of his father and his sudden friendship with the new bombshell Erica.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Lydia had always been the brightest in her class, the hardest working and the top performer academically. It was everywhere else in her life that she felt she had fallen short. Her shy tendencies made it hard for her to make friends, coupled with the fact that she was entirely unsure as how to hold a normal conversation without overwhelming people with her vast knowledge on an array of subjects.

Usually she doesn’t mind her lack of friends; she had always been content with keeping to herself. Except for when it comes to Isaac Lahey, when it comes to him she wishes that she was bold enough to strut down the halls and make him take notice in her. She wasn’t sure what it was that drew her to him; he wasn’t exactly the smartest kid in their class.

There was just something about him, something so innocent and kind, he reminded her of a puppy, a very jumpy puppy. She’d taken notice of the numerous bruises that would mar his face, she figured there were probably other injuries but he did well to cover them with baggy shirts and ill fitted jeans.

She had asked Stiles if he knew anything about the bruises, seeing as the two were on the lacrosse team, but he’d said they were probably just from practice. Stating that Lahey  
wasn’t the most coordinated player. Lydia had scoffed at the remark; reminding Stiles that he too wasn’t exactly a shining star player.

Lydia had been caught up in placing her textbooks into her locker that she hadn’t noticed everyone gawking at the pair that had just entered the building. She noticed the shift in volume; the usually noisy halls had grown eerily quiet. She peered around her locker door and stood in shock alongside her classmates. At the end of the hall stood a truly stunning Erica Reyes, alongside her stood Isaac, smirks planted on both their lips as they took in the stunned faces of their classmates. They were shells of their former selves, all awkwardness and acne scars gone; in their place were two incredibly good looking teens.

“Well are you all just going to stand there and stare or is someone going to escort me to my class?” Erica asked sweetly. Dozens of boys soon crowded and her grin grew as she sauntered down the hall with her flood of followers in tow. Isaac shook his head and laughed to himself as he followed along.

“What the holy hell?” Lydia whispered to herself. Just as she’d said it, Isaac turned his head in her direction as if she’d called his name, his blue eyes falling onto her for a moment before he grinned and continued along.

Lydia felt herself flush as she quickly turned back to her locker, busying herself with finding her Chemistry textbook. She had always thought that maybe she’d have a chance with Isaac, seeing as they both tended to stick to themselves. She rarely ever saw Isaac interact with others, though now he seemed buddy buddy with Erica. Not to mention his new found confidence and seeming attraction to leather, Lydia wasn’t so sure of her chances with the fair haired boy anymore.

 

*

  
Lydia continued to notice changes in Isaac. For one, Erica and him had gained another member of their….what pack? No that’s ridiculous, though the way they practically stuck to one another eerily resembled that of pack behavior. Then there was all the random visits from that brooding guy, Derek was his name, she used to listen to Stiles complain about him. He seemed to always be lurking around the school, even more so than before.

Even Scott seemed on high alert whenever the troublesome trio was around. Lydia had always been rather intrigued by Scott. He had started off just as she was now, invisible with no notable talents worth people fussing over. Then one day he was a super athlete that seemed to constantly be in a state of duress.

In fact, as she thought about it, McCall’s remarkable climb from antisocially awkward to overly confident and sure of himself greatly resembled that of Erica and Isaac’s, now Boyd too, change. She wondered if they’d joined a cult or something, sold their souls maybe? Whatever it was it made her uneasy, but also increasingly intrigued, mostly by Isaac. His shift in personality really did little to dampen her affection for him. If anything the new found confidence and endless amounts of leather jackets only made him more appealing.

That’s why she had decided to do something bold herself. She’d spent countless hours daydreaming about what it would be like to talk to Isaac. She’d even gone so far as to practice saying hi in her mirror, not a moment she was very proud of. Lydia had never liked the idea of conforming to the materialistic girl that needed boys’ affection in order to thrive. She liked being independent and on her own, but there was just something about Isaac that drew her in, like a moth to a flame.

It took her until school was out to finally build up enough courage to actually talk to him. It hadn’t been very hard to find him actually; she just had to look for the swarm of boys trailing after Erica. Lydia waited till the boys dispersed some before making her way over to them. She stood frozen in front of them, suddenly all that practice and that whole introduction she’d spent all last night planning just went right out the window. Instead she stood there awkwardly having to tilt her head some to make eye contact with the taller boy; the pair practically loomed over her.

“Can we help you?” Erica asked, her tone coated in annoyance.

“I just, I um,” she stuttered momentarily, trying to ignore Erica’s amused expression and focus solely on Isaac who looked rather intrigued by this encounter.

“I wanted to know if maybe you’d like to go bowling with me,” she finally managed to blurt out.

“Or you know a movie or just….something.”

The two stared at her for a moment, Isaac stunned, a slow grin spread across Erica’s face as she moved in on Lydia.

“And does that invitation extend to me too?” she asked, eyes wide and innocent. Lydia sputtered, unsure of how to respond and suddenly regretting the whole situation.

“Look darling, you look like a nice kid, what with your Annie Oakley sense of style and all, but as I am sure you can tell he’s a bit out of your league,” she said, deliberately moving in closer.

“I mean why would he want _you_ when he can have me?” she motioned to her budding chest and lean legs, “So why don’t you save yourself the embarrassment and scram.”

Lydia looked to Isaac who refused to make eye contact with her. She felt her cheeks burn, almost as if she’d been slapped. She chanced one last look at the pair before turning on her heel and pushing through the crowd that had gathered to watch her embarrassment.

She fought hard to keep the tears back, not till she was safe at home in her room would she allow herself to cry. Before she could make it to her car though she felt a hand tug her arm and pull her to the side.

“Lydia are you alright? I saw what happened and…” Allison stood in front of her, her face drawn into a frown.

Lydia and Allison weren’t exactly that good of friends. Stiles, who was basically the only person that ever talked to Lydia, introduced them when his best friend Scott decided he was head over heels for her. They had been a sickeningly adorable couple, until recently when they out of the blue broke up. But she caught the longing stares share by the pair.

“I’m fine,” she replied, not making eye contact with the taller girl.

“Hey, why don’t we go to the mall, a little shopping to get your mind off things?” she asked hopefully.

Lydia wanted nothing more than to tell her no, that she had something she needed to do. But the hopeful smile Allison gave, full equipped with dimples and everything was too much and she reluctantly agreed.

Maybe some shopping would help her, though she honestly didn’t think anything could erase the sickening sensation of rejection that filled her whole body at the moment. She chanced a glance back as Allison and her made their way out of the school, but as she had mostly expected the two had disappeared.


	2. Chapter 2

“Is this really necessary?” Lydia asked as Allison shoved another dress through the curtain.

“Oh come one Lydia, I know there’s a darling girl under all those jumpers and polo’s,” Allison remarked. Lydia looked over at her discarded clothes, they weren’t that bad. She often preferred functionality of fashionable clothes.

“Yes well I am not all that concerned with my appearance,” Lydia noted as she pulled on another dress, this one tighter than the last and shorter. What was Allison trying to turn her into, some scantily clad bimbo like the rest of her classmates?

“I mean it’s not like I need to look good in order to feel good about myself, or even impress others,” she added.

The curtain suddenly pulled open and Allison gave her an appraising look.

“Yeah but it sure doesn’t hurt,” she said looking pointedly at the mirror, forcing Lydia to turn and admire her own reflection. It wasn’t often she wore clothes that clung to her figure; but now as she saw the soft burgundy material outlining the curves of her body she couldn’t deny that she looked good.

“We’re getting it,” Allison declared as she grabbed the stack of clothes off the bench, “These too.”

Lydia looked at her reflection once more, her hands caressing the shape of her hips. She tried not to think about Isaac, or about the way he might look at her if he saw her dressed like this. If maybe he would be just as stunned as Allison was. She tried and failed not to think about it.

*

“Allison I’m not so sure about this anymore,” Lydia said as she made her way up the front steps of the school.

Last night she’d excitedly gone through all her new clothes, she even tried to show off a few of her outfits to her mother. Her mother had smiled but then told her that she really didn’t have the time and needed to focus on her work. Lydia had tried to trample down the dejected feeling she got. She was used to it by now, her mother was always busy, hardly ever home and when she was she claimed she was tired and would hole herself up in her office for the rest of the night.

“Stop worrying, you look great,” Allison assured her, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her through the door.

As soon as they were in the school Lydia felt the immediate eyes on her and the sudden change in mood. Everyone grew quiet as they stared at her in open mouthed awe and confusion.

“Everyone’s staring,” she whispered to Allison. Her pulse began to race as her classmates continued to stare. Oh gosh no, were they going to laugh at her? Tell her what a joke she was for thinking that a simple make over would change the fact that she was a loser, a nobody.

“They’re staring cause you look hot,” Allison replied. Lydia looked to her classmates, their faces ranging from approval; some even looked like they were actually checking her out. None looked as though they were about to laugh, most looked on with envy and want. All looks that were entirely new to her, but definitely not unwelcome.

She tossed her hair over her shoulder, straightened and then strutted down the hallway, ignoring the way everyone’s eyes followed her; and totally reveling in the fact that she, Lydia Martin, was actually turning heads.

*

“Allison I have homework that I could be doing,” she whined as Allison dragged her up the bleachers. It was frosty outside and they were wrapped up in coats and scarves.

“Your homework will still be waiting for you when you go home,” Allison reassured as she pulled her down onto one of the benches.

“Now sit and enjoy the show.” She made a point to stare deliberately at the players lining up on the field, all decked out in full uniform. Lydia could spot him easily. He was taller than most of them, aside from Boyd, the two were skulking in the back of the group, shoulders hunched.

She sighed and clasped her hands in front of her, trying to ignore the cold chill of the wind as it ruffled her hair.

“You know you can talk to me if you want,” Allison said, turning to face her, her playful smile turning into a look of concern.

“About what?” Lydia asked, feigning ignorance as she willed Allison to drop the subject.

“You know the whole Isaac thing.”

Lydia finally turned to her, giving her a pointed look, “I’m over it okay. It was a stupid crush and since he’s made it clear that he has no interest in me I’m not going to lose sleep over a boy.”

Allison stared at her for a long moment, “If you say so,” she finally replied.

“I do say so,” Lydia huffed, “Besides why would I waste my time on him when there are plenty of other boys falling over themselves for my attention now?”

As of late she’d been attracting more than a few male suitors interested in taking her out or even to simply ogle her from afar. She was flattered sure, but it also infuriated her that the only reason any of them had decided to take note in her was because she threw on a skirt that didn’t cover her knees and left a few buttons on her top open. It was pathetic really that people were that shallow and vain.

What made her even madder though was that even with all of this new attention there was still one person that ignored her. It’s not like she was actively seeking him out or anything. She just sometimes happened to pass by his locker a few times a day. And if her skirt slipped a little higher on her thigh as she caressed the smooth skin there in their shared Chemistry class, well she just couldn’t help that.

She turned her attention back to the lacrosse players, though a sight of blonde caught her eye on one of the lower bleachers. She saw Erica sitting there, the blonde was seated by herself though her body was angled toward their direction rather than the field. Her red lips were upturned in an amused smile, as if she’d heard their entire conversation and somehow could detect the lie in Lydia’s declaration.

She was snapped out of her reverie when Finstock’s whistle blew loud, signaling for the boys to begin their drills.

Lydia watched as boy after boy ran down the field in an attempt to get the ball past Scott who was guarding the goal. They tried but to no avail were any successful. She watched as they continued on, coming up on the end of the line where Isaac stood, his shoulders hunched, it looked as if he were shaking. Suddenly Scott looked more alert than the relaxed stance that he’d taken moments before. She also noticed Erica stiffen from where she was sitting, her nails digging into her legs almost painfully.

She could feel Allison beside her move forward in her seat, her back snapping straight as she watched with worried eyes. “Oh no, not now,” Allison muttered to herself.

“What are you-” Lydia started to as but was cut off as coach blew his whistle and Isaac took off down the field at full speed. And rather than staying in the goal like he was supposed to, Scott took off running at Isaac. She saw the disaster that was about to unfold, the two charging at one another.

Scott lunged at him when he was close enough and Isaac mimicked the movement. Scott managed to catch him by the shoulder and the two twisted in the air until they landed, almost gracefully she noted, onto the ground both crouched in front of one another.

There was a silent fight going on between the two boys as Isaac seemed almost feral as he made to lunge at Scott. But Scott rose up some, squaring his shoulders and that seemed to subdue the taller boy.

They finally snapped out of it when the coach blew his whistle and yelled at the boys to take a lap. Isaac jumped back as if he’d been awoken from some sort of trance, looking around the field until his eyes landed on a figure in the distance. Lydia followed his gaze and saw Derek standing on the opposite side of the field near the woods, his face was set into a hard glare, eyes fixed on Isaac.

She watched as Isaac quickly ran off the field, Scott in tow. Erica wasted no time; she was up in a second taking off after the boys.

“What the hell just happened?” she finally asked, looking to Allison who still was tense.

“I, I don’t know,” she stuttered, “But I should go, make sure their okay.”

“Since when did you care about Isaac’s well-being?” she inquired.

Allison ignored her and grabbed her bag, “Uh look I’ll ask Stiles to give you a ride home if that’s alright?”

“No it’s fine, my mom is off today, I’ll just call her to come get me,” she said waving a hand dismissively at her. She was confused as to why the taller girl was suddenly acting so strange. It wasn’t like Allison hadn’t acted like that before though, her, Scott and Stiles were always running around the school in some state of distress.  It was just strange this time that Isaac was involved.

“Okay, I’ll see you later,” she called as she took off down the bleachers.

Lydia gave a small wave before gathering her own things and pulling out her phone to call her mom. She looked back to the field where the boys had resumed their practice, though Stiles had gone missing too. She hadn’t seen him take off, but she had a pretty good idea as to where he went. She looked back to the woods where Derek had once been, now all there was were trees. 


	3. Chapter 3

Lydia couldn’t stop thinking about the events of the previous day. She’d texted Stiles asking if everything was alright and he feigned ignorance. She’d even tried with Allison but she’d told her just to not worry about it, that it was nothing.

Though it sure hadn’t seemed like nothing. It seemed like something had happened to Isaac that had the pack of misfits on edge.

She pushed the thoughts aside for the moment as she thought over Chemistry, they had an on hands exam coming up and she’d been using her spare time to study for it. Not that she was really worried, every subject was her subject. Academics came easy to her.

As she neared her locker her she almost tripped when she caught a pair of sea blue eyes staring intently in her direction. She chanced a glance over her shoulder to see if maybe Erica was there, but it was clear of any self-obsessed blondes.

She continued walking, a twinge of pink tinting her cheeks as he continued to stare, his eyes following her as she stopped in front of her locker. She quickly retrieved her books and in an act of sudden bravery turned her head slightly, her amber eyes connecting with his. He offered her a sly smirk, something almost feral ghosting over his eyes. She froze, unable to respond before he shrugged off the locker and took off down the hall.

Her eyes trailed after his retreating form. She couldn’t help but notice the broad line of his shoulders as maneuvered around a group of giggling girls, seemingly oblivious to their stares. She followed the lines of his back down to his backside, biting her lip as she admired the way that his jeans fit snuggly around his ass.

“Careful, you’re drooling,” Allison smirked as she saddled up beside her.

Lydia jumped, startled out of her lustful gazing. She composed herself, straightening her back before slamming her locker shut and turning to face Allison.

“I can admire a good ass when I see one,” she stated before taking off down the hall, her mind filling with images of broad shoulders and lean legs.

*

Lydia was seated primly on the metal stool, awaiting further instruction from Mr. Harris. She’d managed to walk into class without even glancing at the back row where Isaac was usually seated with Erica faithfully by his side. Though the effort had been wasted when moments after she’d sat down the troublesome pair sauntered into the classroom; she’d kept her eyes straight ahead, only chancing a glance when she could feel his stare on her as he took the seat directly behind her.

Erica paused, looking confused before she followed his gaze and her lips curled into a snarl. He gave her a hard look before she finally sat down beside him, her eyes boring daggers into Lydia’s back.

“Alright, for this exam I will allow you to work with a partner, choose wisely,” he gave a pointed look to Stiles and Scott as he continued on with his lecture as to how much of their grade counted on this exam.

Once he’d set them free to choose partners Lydia was surprised to find both Scott and Stiles quickly seated on either side of her. She usually did partner work alone, no one ever seeming to notice her, even the teachers looked the other way.

“Mr. McCall, Mr. Stilinski,” Harris drawled, seemingly appearing behind them from nowhere, “I believe I said partner work, now if that concept it too complicated for you to grasp then maybe I should just go ahead and offer you your F’s now, save us both the trouble.”

 “But-” Stiles began to protest.

“Enough Mr. Stilinski, you will be working with Ms. Argent and Mr. McCall you can work with Ms. Reyes, lets actually test your knowledge rather than relying on Ms. Martin for your easy A.

“But then Lydia doesn’t have a partner.” Allison pointed out. Lydia cursed her under her breath, trying to hide the blush that was creeping up her cheeks. She hated being singled out, Harris would probably have to order somebody to work with her and they’d have no choice but to begrudgingly accept.

“I’ll be her partner,” a voice stated, the voice coming from directly behind her. She didn’t even have to turn to know who it was.

Harris sighed before finally waving his hand dismissively at them, “Fine Lahey work with Ms. Martin, but,” he started, giving her a pointed look, “Make sure he actually does some of the work and doesn’t leave it all to you.”

She nodded slightly, pursing her lips as she tried to remain calm as felt Isaac seat himself onto the stool beside her.

She tried to ignore him as she began grabbing at the specific chemicals needed, having already read the instructions.

“So you’re like crazy smart right?” he asked, picking at the instruments laid out on the table.

“You know Harris was right, I’m not going to do this all by myself. So why don’t you make yourself useful and pass me the potassium chromium sulfate,” she demanded, holding her hand out expectantly.

He wavered for a bit, glancing at the various bottles in front of them before finally grabbing one and handing it to her.

“Lucky guess,” she offered him a small smile before going back to work.

“I’m full of surprises,” he said, leaning in close to examine what she was doing, she felt his eyes slowly travel up her arms, resting somewhere in between her chest and her neck.

“You know it’s not polite to stare,” she chastised, willing herself not to blush at the new attention.

He actually had the decency to look embarrassed as he leaned away from her.

“What’s next?” he mumbled, this time not bother to gaze in her direction.

“Pass me the pipette,” she said, holding out her hand, this time chancing a glance at him. He was staring at her; he looked torn, like he wanted to say something but was holding back.

“Sit down Mr. McCall,” Harris yelled, his voice breaking their gaze; the two immediately looked away from one another.

She couldn’t help but think about the way his eyes had been locked onto hers for the rest of the class. They managed to successfully complete their experiment, though it was rather tense between the two, Isaac only speaking to her when necessary. As soon as the bell rang he gathered his things quickly before rushing out of class.

She stood to collect her books, suddenly a hard shoulder connected with hers, causing her to drop her books onto the floor. She looked up in time to watch Erica give her a murderous glare before she stalked out of the classroom.

Lydia sighed before leaning down to pick up her books. This has by far been an interesting couple of days, she thought to herself as she collected her things and set off for her next class. Interesting indeed.

*

Lydia was seated outside the counselor’s office; she had to visit the guidance counselor once a week per her mother’s request. After her parents’ divorce her mother thought that it would leave residual scarring on Lydia’s mental psyche. Though in all honestly Lydia couldn’t tell much of a difference, aside from the house became quieter, there were no longer scream matches that usually resulted in something expensive being broken. Her parents still ignored her just as before though, so not much off a difference.

As she sat there, her hands smoothing down the lines of her skirt, she mulled over the events from the past few days. First there was Isaac’s freak out at practice, that still no one was willing to talk to her about. Even weirder there was the new attention that he was paying to her; case in point, the fact that every day since the Chemistry encounter she has felt a set of eyes on her every time she goes to her locker.  Even throughout class she can feel those same eyes glued to her back.

And speak of the devil himself, she thought as she looked up to see none other than Isaac himself approaching her, his hands stuffed in his pockets and shoulders hunched like usual. She tried her best not to acknowledge him, until he came to a complete stop in front of her, obviously having come to speak to her.

She did her best to keep calm as she felt his eyes rake over her frame. As she eyed him, she caught his stare lingering on her bare legs; she smirked to herself and raised an eyebrow questioningly at him.

He cleared his throat before speaking, “Um so I was coming to ask you a question,” he started. She was surprised that he actually sounded nervous. As of late Isaac had become the picture of confidence and assurance, no longer the jumpy puppy she’d once thought him to be.

“Well then by all means, go on and ask,” she urged, “Or are you just going to keep standing there gawking at me?”

The blush that rose on his cheeks as he ducked his head and laughed to himself caught her off guard. Things suddenly got a lot more interesting.

“So I was wondering if maybe you’d like to go out sometime,” he blurted out, “With me, of course,” he hastily added.

She couldn’t help the look of surprise that crossed her face. But as he stood there awkwardly she couldn’t help but think back to when she was in his position. Awkwardly standing before the boy that she had longed for, for so long, only to be bluntly shut down. The memory triggered something within her, anger flaring through her as she squinted up at him.

“I’m not sure that would work, you know, seeing as I am far out of your league,” she said icily.

He immediately straightened, recoiling from her words as if she’d slapped him.

“Besides,” she started as she stood, squaring her shoulders, “Why would you want me when you have that blonde play thing to occupy your time?”

“It’s not like that with Erica,” he replied quickly.

“Mmm, does she know that?” she questioned, moving closer to him, he instinctively stepped back.

“Because you know, I’m not really in the habit of having anyone’s sloppy seconds.”

He actually had the gall to look hurt by her words. She scoffed before turning to grab her purse. Her hand paused on the door knob, she turned slightly to find him still standing there, his head down and his body looking defeated. It almost hurt her to see him like this, like a kicked puppy. But she sucked it up and reminded herself of the humiliation and hurt that he’d caused her.

“Why don’t you come back when you can actually play on my level,” she said before entering the office, not even glancing back to see what his response was.

She smiled as she took a seat in front of Ms. Morrell, clasping her hands over her primly crossed legs.

“And how are you today Ms. Martin?” she asked, offering her a kind smile.

“Splendid actually,” Lydia answered, a grin slowly spreading across her glossed lips, “Absolutely splendid.”


	4. Chapter 4

It had been a long day. Lydia had a Calculus test third period, an oral exam in Spanish and then a lab in Chemistry that she won’t admit to being a little disappointed when she ended up working with Stiles. Isaac hadn’t even shown up to class.

She hadn’t seen him earlier that day either, though in all honesty she hadn’t really been looking for him. She was more concerned with avoiding him. It had felt good the other day getting to stand up for herself and be strong even with those gorgeous blue eyes holding her gaze. There was still a part of her that was kicking herself for not accepting the offer. It was everything that she had dreamed of and she just let it go.

She told herself that this was more to do with self-respect than her long desired fantasies of the taller boy.

So she’d had to fight the disappointment that overcame her when she’d slipped into Harris’ class just before the bell. Her gaze fell to the back of the room only to see the table empty. Isaac hadn’t been the only one absent that day, Erica and Scott were gone too, even Allison was suddenly missing even though Lydia had seen her earlier that day in English.

She’d tried asking Stiles about it but he just said that Scott was sick and at home, as for the others he didn’t know. Though with the way he flailed, even more than usual, and not so casually lied tipped her off that he probably knew more about the subject than he was letting on. Gosh, he was an even worse liar than Allison; at least she worked those doe eyes and dimples to her advantage.

She was now seated in the car waiting for her mom to finish with work. This is how it usually worked, if Lydia wanted to borrow the car then she’d have to pick her mom up from work. Lydia had wanted to do some shopping for new books today, though she lied to her mom and told her she was going to the mall to shop for clothes. Her mom had been really excited that Lydia had finally started acting more like a ‘lady’.

Really, what’s more impressive, your daughters near 5.0 GPA, accumulated by all the AP classes she took, or whether or not she has a date to formal? Obviously her mother needed to sort her priorities out.

As she sat there in the dimming parking lot, the only light coming from the street lights, she thumbed through one of her new books.

She skimmed the book for a few more minutes before sighing and checking the time, she’d been waiting for almost an hour and was getting impatient. She leaned across the console to grab her phone, contemplating whether or not she should call and ask how much longer her mother would be. She stopped short of dialing her number when a figure in the distance caught her eye.

There was something perched on top of one of the cars across the lot, she moved closer to the dashboard, trying to get a better view. Perhaps it was just late and her eyes were playing tricks on her. But as she squinted, the figure coming into focus, she saw it was a boy. He was squatting on top of the car, though there was something off about him. His head was down and his shoulders were heaving with every breath that he took.

Lydia froze as soon as his head turned up, his gaze falling onto her, having spotted her from across the lot. She saw the almost animalistic look that had contorted his face; he looked feral as he crouched, readying to spring into action.

Suddenly another figure appeared out from the cars, placing himself between the thing and her. The figure on top of the car lurched forward and sprang toward the other man. He braced himself as the, what animal? man? collided with him. He gripped its shoulders sending it flying into the pavement. Lydia jumped at the sickening crack that sounded through the otherwise empty parking lot.

The man moved closer to the figure on the ground, his hands curling into his coat before sharp claws sprung out of his fingers, making her gasp. His head turned up towards her and her eyes grew with surprise as she suddenly recognized the tall figure, it was Isaac. Though there was something different about him, his eyes were glowing gold and his jaw jutted out, sharp teeth visible from her view.

Suddenly the figure on the ground sprang to life and tackled Isaac, sending him to the ground. He recovered quickly and chased the creature down into the woods where it had begun to flee. She watched in horror as they fought, both struggling for dominance.

Lydia’s heart sank as she watched as the other creature pushed Isaac up against a tree, trapping him. Its head turned to the side, jaws widening as its canines readied to sink into Isaac. She was frozen in place, tears welling in her eyes, was she really about to watch her long time crush be torn apart by some feral creature?

Just as the creature was about to lunge for his neck another figure came out from the woods, tackling it to the ground. They wrestled for a moment before the newer creature let out a deep growl and the other creature was finally subdued. With ease the bulkier man heaved the smaller boy off the ground and dragged him into the woods.

She looked back to Isaac whose face had gone back to normal, he pushed himself off from the tree, readjusting the scarf that was wrapped around his neck and brushing off his jeans.

Suddenly his gaze snapped to hers, their eyes connecting for a moment before a howl broke through the trees and he turned in the same direction the others had gone.

She sat there staring at where they had all just been. Her hands were clenched around the steering wheel, knuckles white as she tried to steady her breathing, tears slipping down her cheeks.

She wasn’t sure how to process any of this, she wasn’t even sure if what she’d seen was real. Maybe she’d gone crazy?

The passenger door suddenly opened and she jumped in her seat, a shriek escaping her lips.

“Lydia what’s wrong?” her mother asked, hand resting on her shoulder to steady her shaking daughter.

Lydia couldn’t speak; she just shook her head trying to compose herself.

“Lydia you look like you just saw a ghost,” her mother noted as she turned her face towards hers, examining it closely.

“It’s nothing, just, nothing,” she finally answered.

“Darling you’re shaking,” she said, prying her hands off the wheel, “Here why don’t you let me drive.”

Lydia didn’t argue, only nodded before stepping out of the car. As she came to the passenger side her gaze fell onto the lot in front of her. She noticed the clear cracks in the pavement where Isaac had slammed the creature into it.

So maybe she wasn’t crazy. But if she wasn’t crazy, then what the hell had she just seen? And what the hell was Isaac Lahey?

*

Lydia’s head slipped off her hand that had been cupping her cheek, her face narrowly missing the desk. She jerked awake and looked around the classroom. The lights were dimmed as the film continued to play, they were somewhere in the middle of Romeo and Juliet.

Their teacher had decided it would be best to watch the film after they had read the play. It was all torture for Lydia; this had to be one of her least favorite Shakespeare works because of all the unnecessary drama that the two main characters inflicted upon themselves. If you wanted to be with someone that badly and it was meant to be, then none of it would have been that hard. They should have taken the blaring hint that the universe was trying to send them.

She raised her hand and made a small noise to grab her teacher’s attention.

“Yes Lydia?”

“May I use the restroom?” she asked politely.

Her teacher nodded and Lydia quietly stood from her seat, making her way out of the classroom, trying to remain calm. It was once she’d finally escaped the small room that she let out a long breath. She couldn’t quite remember all of her dream, but she could assume it was similar to all of the other ones she’d been having as of late; all of them involving young boys suddenly transforming into creatures of the night.

She still couldn’t bring herself to say the words that she was thinking, the words that had blared on her computer screen when she searched it.

To make things worse she hadn’t seen Isaac since it had happened. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to talk to him about it, but she certainly didn’t like the fact that he was avoiding her.

Just in that moment she looked up and across the scarce hall she caught sight of the tall boy, his impossibly blue eyes staring at her in surprise as he noticed her. They both stood there frozen for a moment, staring at one another.

She felt her chest tighten, images from before flooding her mind; images of gold eyes and fangs and superhuman strength. Her pulse quickened as fear stirred in her stomach, a strange mix of fear and genuine human curiosity.

He seemed to take note of her change in mood and made to retreat down the hall but she took a sudden step forward and called out his name. The look of surprise on his face seemed to match hers perfectly.

“Isaac,” she repeated in a softer tone.

He turned to face her again, his face impassive though his eyes were tight as he waited for her to speak.

“I just um, I wanted to thank you,” she began, “For the other day.”

He nodded stiffly, his mouth forming a hard line, as if he wanted to say something but was holding back.

“And I won’t tell anyone,” she added, sensing his distress, “I promise, your secret is safe with me.”

She wasn’t sure why she was trying to reassure him, it’s not like she had really thought to say anything. Her mother had pestered her about it for a while, but ultimately dropped the subject. She just figured that if she had said something that no one would believe her.

Isaac’s head lowered for a moment, she thought she saw a smile but when his head snapped up again, eyes boring into hers there was no sign of it.

“Thank you,” was all he said in response, but in those two words held a true genuine note of gratitude that had her offering him a small smile.

“I should get going,” she said motioning in the direction of her classroom, “I don’t want them to think I got lost on my way to the bathroom.”

At that he actually cracked a smile, laughing quietly. He nodded once before turning to walk down the same hall that he’d come from. She stood a moment watching him go, smiling to herself as she made her way back to her classroom.

In the corner of her eye she saw a flash of blonde, but when she turned there was no one in the hall but her. She shook it off and continued on. Even though they hadn’t necessarily talked about it she still felt a weight lift off her chest because he hadn’t tried to play dumb or act like he didn’t know what she was taking about. He’d accepted her gratitude and offered one of his own.

There was a warmth that spread through her chest as that dawned on her, he didn’t think she was crazy. Though with that realization came another, whatever Lydia had seen that night was real. Which meant that whatever Isaac was, wasn’t human, at least not entirely, and it meant that there were others like him. Others that were actually dangerous. Though who’s to say Isaac wasn’t dangerous himself. 


	5. Chapter 5

Stiles was seated at one of the lab tables pouring over the map that he had “temporarily misappropriated” from his father. Everyone was on edge with the Argents being in full vengeful mode along with whatever other threats that were surely looming on the horizon.

He’d taken to mapping out the layout of Beacon Hills, trying to determine safe zones for the pack and areas that could possibly double as the Argents’ hideouts. He was really just trying to cover every possible possibility that could come their way. He’d also hoped that in doing the grunt work it would save Scott from doing this patrol thing he was on with Derek at the moment.

Stiles had tried to reason with Scott about what a bad idea it was to simply run rampant around town into every abandoned building and musty house they stumbled upon. But Scott had insisted that he would be fine. Stiles cursed Derek and his extremely bad plans. If his past track record was any indication, it was clear that the newly made Alpha was not all that wise in the decision making department.

He’d rather Derek drag his little rag tag group of miscreants along on these little missions rather than his best friend. It’s not like they weren’t already reckless on their own. Maybe they’d get themselves killed and that would be one less problem for Stiles to worry over.

He chided himself at that thought. It wasn’t that the trio were necessarily bad people, heck he’d even quite liked Boyd before the bite. It was just that with them around it made Derek stronger and more reckless it appeared. Basically anything he did was reckless.

Stiles just wanted to ensure that the people that he loved and cared about weren’t in any danger. Though in a town like this it seemed like danger was lurking around every corner; looming in the air just waiting to strike.

Just at that moment he felt a cold chill come over him as he looked up to find Isaac standing in the doorway, his usual smirk in place as he took in Stiles’ surprised expression.

“Good heavens what is wrong with you?” he yelped, visibly jumping in his seat and dramatically clutching at his chest where his heart beat quickened. There was something about Isaac that didn’t sit well with Stiles. He hadn’t known him before the bite. He’d seen him around the school and knew he was on the lacrosse team. But the kid always kept to himself.

And now with his new abilities he seemed almost devoid of all human emotions, strutting around the school without a care. He’d definitely taken a page out of the Derek Hale How to Be Wild and Reckless handbook.

“What do you have there?” Isaac inquired as he made his way into the classroom. He loomed over Stiles as his eyes scanned the map laid out on the table.

“It’s a map of Beacon Hills,” Stiles replied stiffly.

Isaac glanced at him for a moment, taking in Stiles’ rigid form, a playful glint in his eyes.

“Stilinski if I didn’t know any better I’d say you’re afraid of me,” he noted.

“Not scared,” Stiles quickly defended, “Just not a fan of people invading my personal space.” He motioned with his arms wildly at the obvious lack of space between them.

Isaac chuckled humorlessly to himself, “Not a fan of small spaces,” he said, “I can understand that.”

Stiles let out an exaggerated sigh; he really wasn’t interested in hearing whatever sob story Isaac had locked up within the cackles of his darkened heart.

“Is there a reason you’re here oh tall, dark and scary,” Stiles asked in annoyance. He really wanted to get back to work than talk to one of his least favorite people.

“A nickname, how cute,” Isaac taunted.

Stiles gave him a dark look and Isaac rolled his eyes, Derek’s definitely been training his beta’s in the art of sass.

“I was actually wondering if you’d seen Erica,” he finally asked.

“What your fearsome feline escaped your ever watchful eye?” Stiles mocked.

Isaac gave him a short smile before continuing, “Look Stilinski have you seen her or not?”

“Not, I’m not your guys’ babysitter, that’s what Derek is for.”

“Well she does seem to have an affinity to you, not that I can understand the appeal,” Isaac noted, giving him a once over and not looking very impressed.

“Whatever, we can’t all be hulking figures who loom around schools stalking others now can we?” Stiles replied back.

Isaac stiffened suddenly.

“Woah, hey you still with me?” Stiles asked, waving his hand in front of Isaac’s stoic face. Isaac grabbed his wrist in a fluid motion and gripped it tightly.

“Stiles,” he said in a more serious tone than before.

“Seriously dude what’s wrong?” he asked, trying to pull his arm free.

“If Erica’s not with you then that means…” his eyes widened visibly.

*

Lydia was seated at one of the chairs in the choir room. It was quiet in here and a great place to read while she waited for her mother to come and pick her up. Allison had been mysteriously absent from school again.

This whole secrets thing and everybody sneaking around her was getting really old. She figured that they would know more about what she saw that night in the parking lot. But a part of her was conflicted about saying anything, either for fear of them dismissing her and trying to persuade her that what she’d seen was a figment of her tired mind. Even though she knew it was real, what with the way Isaac had shown gratitude for her silence on the matter.

Which brought her to her second dilemma; she wasn’t sure if she should say anything for the sake of Isaac’s trust.

It was all so confusing to her, but all she really wanted was someone to talk to. Anyone really, she just needed someone that she could tell all of these crazy thoughts that were swirling around in her head. She’d almost cracked earlier when she had her session with Ms. Morrell. She was just aching to alleviate all of these thoughts from herself.

It was like she was in a lake and all these secrets were drowning her. She was just fighting to stay afloat.

She checked her phone again, it was barely five. She figured she could go to the front of the school, false hope that her mother would actually be there.

Lydia contemplated whether it would be better just to walk home rather than wait for her mom to show up. She looked down at the maroon pumps that she had on and sighed, not a good day for heels.

As she made her way down the row of stairs she froze when she finally noticed the figure standing in the doorway.

Erica slinked into the room, shutting and pointedly locking the door behind her. She turned her dangerous smirk back to Lydia.

“Funny finding you here,” she said, slowly working her way towards her. Lydia instinctively moved back, her calf hitting cold metal. She realized she was trapped.

“It’s a school where we both attend,” Lydia stated, trying to calm herself. If she showed fear that would only spur Erica on, “I don’t really see how you wouldn’t factor in a possible encounter with a fellow classmate.”

Erica only smiled wider, her white teeth blaring almost like fangs.

“Oh you’re good Martin,” she said, “But guess what, I’m better.”

Her eyes shown gold and Lydia gasped as she stumbled back into the chairs. They made a clattering noise as she tried to maneuver around them without taking her eyes off of Erica.

“Oh Lydia,” she started, “You really should be careful; we wouldn’t want precious Lydia to get hurt now?”

“What do you want from me?” Lydia demanded, tired of Erica’s taunting.

“I’m here to eliminate a threat,” she stated darkly.

“I don’t see how I could possibly be a threat to you, you clearly have the advantage here,” Lydia said, gesturing to the blonde.

“Oh so you noticed?” she asked sweetly, her head rolling back for a moment and then to the side, her appearance transforming right before Lydia’s eyes. When she turned back to her she was equipped with full canine’s protruding from her red lips.

“They’re new,” she said, her body coiling as if ready to strike. Lydia braced herself, glancing quickly at the door wondering if she had a chance.

She was broken out of her thoughts when Erica let out a menacing growl and lurched forward, Lydia letting out a desperate cry.

*

As they tore through the hallway, Stiles struggling to keep up with Isaac who obviously had the upper hand, they heard a terrified cry break through the silence of the school. Isaac’s step faltered for a moment before he picked up the pace, sprinting in the direction of the noise.

They burst through the choir room, Stiles gasping for breath. Isaac hesitated, staring at the scene before them. Erica had Lydia pinned haphazardly on the steps, her face dangerously close to Lydia’s neck.

Isaac let out a feral snarl before lunging at Erica, ripping her off of Lydia.

If it was a fight that she was looking for then he was more than willing to give her one.

*

Lydia stood in shock as Isaac lifted Erica into the air before slamming her down onto the cold metal chairs. Though Erica didn’t stay down, she jumped to action, ramming him back into the piano next to where Lydia stood unmoving.

Stiles quickly sprang to action and grabbed her out of the way, Erica flipped Isaac to the ground, his body giving way to a sick crack.

He didn’t move, his body still on the ground. Erica slowly rose to her feet, turning her feral grin on Lydia. She snarled once before lurching forward towards her. Lydia allowed herself to be tugged by Stiles out of the way in the same moment she noticed a movement from behind Erica.

It all happens in a flurry of action. Suddenly Isaac springs up and lunges at Erica, sending them both flying into the wall. They fight for dominance for a moment before Isaac finally grasps her throat, “Erica stop, please!” he pleads, gripping her tighter as she struggles in his grasp.

Erica lets out another snarl before flipping them and pinning Isaac to the wall, her teeth snapping at his neck. Lydia stands by with Stiles watching on in horror as Erica slams his head into the wall sending him sprawling to the ground.

In a quick movement Erica is turning and readying to attack Lydia. This time Lydia braces herself for the attack, pushing Stiles back. She couldn’t stand there and watch Isaac take a beating that was clearly meant for her.

In that moment multiple things happened. First, an arrow sails through the air, flying at Erica and piercing her in her thigh and sending her down with a howl. The arrow is accompanied by two more growls coming from either sides of the room as Scott, oh god is that Scott all wolfed out, Lydia stares on in shock.

The other growl comes from Derek who is now gripping Erica by the back of her neck as she continues to whimper. In a quick movement he pulls the arrow from her leg. Lydia turns to see standing right behind Scott is Allison, cross bow poised on Erica.

“What the holy hell is going on?” Lydia screeches as everyone seems to be ignoring the very real fact that there is a room full of werewolves and whatever the hell Allison was.

“Are you okay?” Isaac mumbles from where he is hunched over on the floor, his now blue eyes look up at her, scanning her body for any signs of harm.

Everyone seems to then turn their attention to Lydia, who backs away from them all staring in disbelief.

“Lydia,” Scott says cautiously, approaching her with his hands raised in what was supposed to be a non-threatening manner. All Lydia could see though was the look of canines protruding from his mouth, the way his face had twisted into something more animalistic.

“Lydia it’s ok,” Allison said now lowering her cross bow, who the hell just had a cross bow lying around Lydia thought.

She looked to each of them, Derek had since dragged Erica off and Isaac was still seated against the wall avoiding eye contact. Stiles stood behind her tense, his hand outstretched to her.

Lydia shook her head and then quickly grabbed her things, mumbling to herself as she quickly brushed past them all, trying to avoid their outstretched hands and looks of pity.

She walked brusquely down the hall, ignoring the footsteps clambering behind her.

“Lydia!” Stiles hollered, trying to maintain his pace with hers.

She simply sped up and chose to ignore him, she was fuming with anger and hurt and betrayal.

“Look Lydia we would have told you eventually,” he started and that was it that was the final straw.

She scoffed, turning on him, glaring so hard it actually made him cower back.

“Really is that so now?” she questioned mockingly, “Because as far as I can tell you were all quite content to keeping your little werewolf club a secret from me, what, do you turn into a monster too?”

“No,” he answered quickly.

She looked at him for a moment. All of this had been going on right under her nose and the people that she thought that she could possibly call friends were the ones keeping it all from her.

“Lydia say something,” Stiles urged.

She looked up at him, her eyes flicking back and forth searching for something in his.

“I can’t believe I thought you were my friend,” she said bitterly before turning to walk away; Stiles for once not following after her.

*

Later that night she lay in bend thinking of everything she’d learned just hours ago. It was a lot to take in, though she’d always suspected something strange with them, she could never have guessed this.

She still couldn’t bring herself to say the word. They were something that she’d only seen in movies, read in books. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought something like this was actually possible. But there they stood, living proof that the supernatural was more than just a myth.

It all was too much for her. She almost wished she didn’t know anything. She yearned for the days where she was a nobody, not that that had necessarily changed. People gawked but none approached her unless it was to make some crude remark about her body. She wanted to go back to the time when she stood at her locker and longingly gazed at the terribly awkward lanky boy that stood across the way. She wished for a time when things were simple. When her hardest choice was whether she should buy the newest Encyclopedia set of settle for one of her guilty pleasure young adult novels.

Now she had to decide what she was going to do with what she knew, how she would proceed from here now that she knew that _they_ were real.

“Werewolves,” she whispered into the night before slipping her eyes closed, the last thing she saw before she finally drifted off was a set of sea blue eyes turning to a stunning gold. 


	6. Chapter 6

Lydia was walking down the halls on her way to her locker when she heard his obnoxious steps clumsily clambering down the steps to her left in an attempt to catch up to her.

“So you know,” Stiles practically gasped as he tried to catch his breath. She ignored him and continued on but he persisted none the less.

“Lydia look you need to say something, please, just talk to me,” he pleaded.

She considered him for a moment, “Mm, no,” she replied which earned her a petulant gawk from Stiles.

“I know that you’re mad that we kept this for you but honestly we weren’t trying to hurt you,” he began, “Really we were keeping you safe by not telling you.”

“So in not telling me that there are people in this town, some who I even thought to maybe be my friends, turned into some sort of animal was for my own protection?”

“Well when you put it like that it just sounds-” She cut him off, rounding on him and having to hold a palm out to his chest to keep him from colliding with her.

“It sounds terrible,” she stated, “Because that’s what it is, it is terrible that you all kept me in the dark.”

“It’s not as bad as you think,” he tried to reason, “But I’m here now, I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

“Who else is there?” she asked, “Allison? Is she a werewolf too?” Lydia flooded him with questions, finally letting herself seek the answers that she’d tried to hold back for some time.

“No it’s just Scott, Derek, Boyd and as you have obviously seen, Isaac and Erica,” he answered.

“What about Allison, why does she always seem to go missing when something strange with you all goes on?”

He sighed, seeming to contemplate how to word what he wanted to say, “Allison comes from a family of hunters,” he finally said.

“Hunters?” she questioned, “But what do they hunt?” As she asked the answer became clear to her.

“They hunt, they hunt people like Scott, like Isaac,” she whispered his name.

“They won’t hurt them though,” he assured, though even he sounded a little wary about that, “They have this supposed code of ethics that they are sworn to follow.”

“Supposed?”

“Yeah well it was kind of temporarily made void when Peter killed Allison’s aunt Kate,” he explained, “Though Kate did burn down the Hale house and all of Derek’s family.”

Lydia stared wide eyed at him, “Sorry for throwing that all on you,” he said.

She shook her head, “No I mean I, I wanted to know,” she replied. It was just a lot to take in. So apparently Scott turns into a half human half wolf creature, Allison hunts down his kind, which explains the crossbow, and some guy named Peter has totally screwed everyone over.

“I get if you still are mad at me,” Stiles said, his hand awkwardly scratching at the back of his neck, “But I just wanted to let you know about all this.”

She looked at him, all gangly limbs and expressive features, a fond smile spread across her lips. It was hard to stay mad at this kid. He may not have possessed Scott’s puppy dog eyes but he was just as endearing.

“Thank you Stiles,” she finally said, his body visibly relaxing.

A small smile spread across his lips, “So we’re good?” he asked hopefully.

“Yeah we’re good.”

A grin spread across his face that warmed her heart, “Well alright, how about we go get some lunch now because I am starving,” he said as he rubbed his stomach in a show of hunger.

“One moment,” she said, “I have to drop some books off at my locker.”

“Want me to wait for you?”

“No, go on ahead, I’ll meet you there,” she said waving him on, he gave her a grateful smile before taking off to the cafeteria. She laughed to herself as she watched him.

She could feel someone’s eyes on her and as she looked over she saw Isaac standing awkwardly at his locker. He looked as though he wanted to say something to her, but there was something in him that seemed to be holding him back. She sighed before turning to her locker and placing her books inside. When she was done she closed her locker door and she looked up she saw that she was gone.

She wanted to talk to him, but she wasn’t sure what she would say. It wasn’t like with Stiles, Isaac wasn’t her friend; he didn’t owe her an explanation. Though she couldn’t help but still want one from him.

*

“So you want to go on ahead and tell me what the hell that was back there?” Isaac asked, leaning against the wall and watching Erica who was curled on the bed. He’d had to basically fight Boyd to get to her.

She didn’t respond, just continued ignoring him. He could feel the anger rolling off of her in deep waves of fury.

“Erica if something is wrong you know you can tell me,” he urged, making a move towards her till she held her hand for him to stop.

“Peter was talking about her Isaac; I overheard him and Derek the other day,” she finally says.

“Why would Peter be talking about Lydia?” Isaac questions.

She finally turned to him, sitting up to face him, her eyes blazing, “I don’t know, but if she managed to pique Peter’s interest then it can only mean something bad,” she replied sternly.

“That doesn’t mean you have the right to kill her,” Isaac stated, his anger rising, “She’s innocent till proven otherwise.”

“Isaac you need to back off, Derek warned us about this,” she said her anger slipping.

“Screw what Derek says, what does he know?” Isaac said exasperatedly, he was getting tired of Derek’s constant list of rules; he practically kept them all on a short leash until he needed them to do his dirty work.

“The rules are there for a reason,” she chided, “Not only do they keep us safe but they also ensure that innocent people don’t get hurt.”

He scoffed, turning from her, “That she won’t get hurt,” she stressed, standing to move to his side and placing a hand reassuringly on his shoulder to comfort him.

He laughed at that, he’d come to try and comfort her and yet here she was doing just that for them. He grabbed her hand in his and sighed, taking comfort in the feeling of Erica’s presence, it was the comfort that only family could bring.

She was his family now, her and Boyd and even Derek. They were his family and he needed that seeing as he was currently lacking in any of his own blood kin.

“If Peter is interested in her then I am not so sure it will be me that she has to be worried about,” he said in a small voice, looking to Erica with wide vulnerable eyes.

She pursed her lips, “She’s strong, maybe she’ll survive.”

He looked away from her, maybe should would, or maybe Erica had been right at first, eliminating a threat before it had a chance to become an actual problem.

*

Lydia was seated at her desk typing out an English paper that was due next week. She hated leaving things for the last minute and honestly it wasn’t like she had anything better to do. She’d tried rearranging her closet earlier, her mom had really taken to this new look Lydia was going for and was constantly buying her pieces of clothing.

Lydia saw through the good natured gesture though. Her mom had always had a hard time relating to Lydia, both of her parents had really. Now that her daughter was showing an interest in something that she could actually understand it seemed as though her mom was going to use it to full bribing advantage. Whatever helped her sleep at night, Lydia thought spitefully.

She was munching on a carrot when her hand stilled at her lip as she heard a light thud against her window. She turned but didn’t see anything, her brow furrowed as she turned back to her computer screen. She managed to type out another sentence before she heard the thud again, followed by another.

“What the hell?” she mumbled to herself as she stood from her chair and moved to the window. She peered out trying to find the source of the thuds. Suddenly a small rock hit the window and she jumped back, yelping in surprise. She quickly moved back to the window and immediately spotted the source of the noise.

Isaac stood there, a smirk playing on his lips as he cupped a handful of what she suspected to be rocks. She unlocked the window and pried it open, surprised by the cold chill that ran through her room.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she questioned, going for stern and falling short.

He smiled wider, his amusement clear on his face, “I was throwing rocks at your window,” he said, holding the hand with the stones up, “To beckon you,” he added.

“And why would you be looking to ‘beckon’ me?” she inquired.

At this his smile fell some and he ducked his head before looking back up at her, “I wanted to talk to you Lydia, if not that then just to ensure that you’re okay after what happened,” he trailed off at the end.

After Erica, a good friend of his, tried to rip her head off Lydia thought. She looked to him, biting her lip as she contemplated the request.

“One moment,” she said, ducking into her room again and snatching a coat off her bed. She moved back to the window and saw that he was still there, his hands shoved into the pockets of his dark coat.

“Meet me at the front,” she said before going back into the room, pausing to grab her phone and then rushing down the stairs to meet him.

She paused before opening the door, allowing herself a calming breath before wrenching the door open. Isaac stood there awkwardly, his hands still deep in his pockets and his shoulders hunched. He looked even more breathtaking up close. The stark contrast of the navy pea coat against his ivory skin was definitely noteworthy.

She looked up to see him staring at her, her cheeks brightening as she realized she’d been caught staring. A nervous smile played across his lips as he gestured with his head for her to follow him.

“Where are we going?” she asked as she huddled closer to him, partially on instinct, mostly because she liked the comfort of his arm brushing against hers as they walked.

“A stroll through the woods sounds nice don’t you think?” he mused as his head tilted towards the moon, its light bathing him in an ethereal glow.

“Isn’t it a little dangerous to be out in the woods at night?” she asked, her eyes scanning the trees for any sign of danger. He gave her a dubious look and scoffed.

“Whatever lurks in these woods certainly isn’t above anything I can’t handle,” he stated confidently.

“Uh right, you’re a, I mean you,” she cut herself off from her awkward ramble.

It was still hard for her to think of it, to say the words. A part of her thought that she was going insane, that was her more rational part that was screaming at her that there was no such thing as werewolves. The other part was having a hard time ignoring the facts and Lydia was nothing if not a proponent of facts. She believed she needed all the facts before she could make an assessment; which is what prompted her to ask the first question that popped into her mind.

“Isaac how did your father die?” she asked hesitantly, she could feel him stiffen next to her before finally letting out a deep breath.

“He was killed by an animal,” he stated almost robotically, as if he was so used to the line that it was an automatic response now.

“What kind of animal?”

He looked down at her before continuing, “I didn’t kill him if that’s what you’re thinking,” he answered coldly.

She shook her head quickly, “No, I never thought, I’d never think that,” she replied honestly. That hadn’t even been a possibility in her mind; she didn’t want to even think him capable of something like that.

He seemed to accept that, his body visibly relaxing, “It was an omega, a lone wolf,” he supplied before she could ask, “It was the same one that went after you that night in the parking lot.”

“So I wasn’t just seeing things?” she asked.

“No, we were out tracking him that night and then I caught your scent,” he said, his eyes looking far off, “If I hadn’t been there I don’t know what he would have done to you, probably the same thing he’d done to my father,” he added, his voice small and distant.

“Well I guess I’m lucky you were there,” she said, offering him a smile. It seemed to pick up his mood some.

They walked on in amiable silence, their arms bumping every now and then.

“So you’re a werewolf,” she finally said, finally allowing herself to fully say it without hesitation.

“Yup,” he answered, amused smiles playing on their lips.

“What’s that even like?” she inquired, “I mean I did my research, but still it’s kind of hard to separate through fact and just exaggerated tales.”

He laughed at that, “Of course you would research it,” he said to himself, his voice sounding fond.

“I like to be well educated,” she defended.

“Well I don’t really know how much you’ve gleaned from your findings,” he started, “But it’s pretty basic, we can shift at all times, though it’s sometimes harder to keep that under control, especially under the influence of the full moon,” he noted as his gaze drifted to the moon above, her eyes followed as she stared in wonder at the glowing orb, it held a new level of mystery for her than it ever had before.

“And there is a social order when it comes to packs,” he stated.

“Like and alpha and a beta?” she questioned.

He smiled, “So you did learn something.”

“Yes, there is an alpha, mine being Derek, he’s who turned me,” he said simply. She thought back to the brooding older man, a part of her felt anger towards him, an anger she didn’t quite understand. Isaac seemed to sense her anger because he stopped them, a hand lightly on her arm.

“I chose this Lydia,” he said, staring firmly into her eyes, “He offered me the bite and I took it because I was tired of feeling weak. I hated the person I was before,” his voice was laced with disgust.

“I happened to like the old you,” she said softly. His gaze fell at that.

“Lydia that person wouldn’t have been able to keep you safe, hell I couldn’t even keep myself safe,” he’d take on a self-deprecating tone that she wasn’t about to allow.

“Look,” she said, grabbing his face so he was staring at her, “Bad things happen to us and sometimes we can’t stop them, not because we’re not strong enough, it’s just that we can’t.”

His eyes were still sad and she wanted to erase that look from them. But that was something far out of her power at the moment, there was only so much she could do. These were his own demons that he had to battle.

A gush of wind passed through them and she couldn’t help the shiver that ran through her body. It seemed to snap him out of his thoughts.

“Come, lets get you home,” he said, placing his hand at the small of her back and guiding her back in the direction of her house.

They walked back in amiable silence. She wanted to say more, to ask more. But there was still the part of her that was afraid to know. She was still scared of what more lurked in this world that had suddenly become infinitely more mysterious to her.

As they neared the house she was relieved to see her mother’s car wasn’t there yet. He walked her to the front door, pausing as she unlocked the door. She turned to face him, their eyes locked on one another.

“Isaac,” she whispered, his eyes flicked down to her lips before he met her eyes again.

She paused contemplating the question that was sitting on the tip of her tongue. It was something she’d tried to withhold from asking but now seemed as good a time as any.

“Isaac why did Erica attack me?” she finally asked. His eyes quickly snapped up to hers, they widened a bit in surprise.

“Erica can be irrational sometimes,” he answered.

“But what did I do to prompt that, I mean I get that she doesn’t like me and all,” she trailed off at that.

“Don’t worry about it Lydia,” he stated firmly, the casual mood that had settled upon them was suddenly gone; his face was guarded once again.

“Have a good night Lydia,” he said before turning and quickly making his way down the steps and off into the night.

She stared after him for a moment before going into her house. She shut the door and leaned against it, letting out a sigh. Well so much for progress she thought to herself.

She pushed off from the door and made her way back to her room, discarding her coat onto her bed. She felt the cold chill of the night air in her room and realized that she’d left the window open. She moved over to close it and the light of the moon caught her eye.

She stared at it for a moment, the pale unforgiving light of the moon glared back at her. It was eerie the feeling that it gave her, like it was trying to tell her something, to warn her. There was a sudden howl that had her jumping back from the window. She recovered from the scare and quickly slammed the window shut, pulling the blinds along with it.

For the rest of the night she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something bigger out there, a plan was being set in motion and she feared that she may have inadvertently placed herself in the midst of it. 


	7. Chapter 7

_There was a sickening crack as a figure slammed into the ground; she peered through the windshield to get a better look. The second figure stood menacingly over the other; it stalked around it like a predator goading its prey._

_Another man appeared from the shadows, he stood next to the other man, both sharing a striking resemblance she noted. The two had wolfish grins plastered on their faces as they stared down the figure on the ground, as she leaned forward she noticed that the man on the ground was not alone, there were multiple figures strewn across the ground. She was horrified to see red slowly oozing out of their bodies._

_Her eyes snapped back to attention as she watched the two figures, she wasn’t sure what it was that they were doing. One of them placed his palm flat on the others back. Then suddenly their bodies began to contort and twist in a sickening way until they finally morphed into one. She jumped back in shock as the newly formed beast let out a deafening howl before it charged for the lone figure on the ground._

_He didn’t stand a chance as they gripped him firmly by the neck, hoisting him into the air. She could feel the tears slipping down her face as she watched on in horror as the beast let out another howl before ripping out the man’s throat, blood pooling onto his chest as they let him drop. His body crumpled to the ground like a rag doll. It was then that Lydia finally saw the man’s face._

_She was shocked to see it really wasn’t a man at all, but rather a boy. He wasn’t old enough to be a man, his face was still too young, his ocean eyes had barely seen the world. And now he was lying motionless on the cold hard ground._

_She was suddenly standing amidst the bodies, staring at each of them in their various forms of lifelessness. She recognized each of them, Boyd, Erica, Derek, Allison, Stiles, Scott; there was another body that was turned away from her, a young girl that she could not see. And then right before her was the boy she’d watch the beast tear apart._

_Isaac. His eyes were still open but there was no life there. Her body trembled as she could feel someone staring at her. She looked up into the shadow to see the glowing of red eyes._

_Suddenly Isaac jolted to life, “Run,” he yelled but it was too late. As she met the glowing red eyes once again they broke through the shadows, the beast charging at her._

_She let out a piercing wail in anticipation for the soon onslaught attack._

Lydia thrashed in her sheets, her body writhing under the force of her scream.

Her wail pierced through the dark of the night and could be heard for miles.

*

Miles away Isaac had been running with Derek and Scott, trying to track down the new scent that Boyd had picked up on.

He paused mid run when the piercing wail echoed through his ears. It startled him and his attention snapped to focus on where it had come from. There was a sense of familiarity to it, but his werewolf senses weren’t as well developed as the others so he couldn’t quite pin point it.

Scott came bounding past him from the trees, “It’s Lydia,” he called over his shoulder as he continued sprinting in the direction Isaac knew her house to be. He froze for a moment, his blood running cold as the realization hit. Then it a quick movement he was taking off after Scott and Derek.

He soon overtook them and pulled ahead of the group, his sole focus was on the red head who he believed to be in danger. A scream like that couldn’t warrant anything but danger.

When he made it to the house he didn’t even pause before he was scaling the side of the house and slipping into an open window. He could faintly hear both Derek and Scott calling out his name but ignored them. The window took him to what looked like an office. He didn’t even pause to look around, instead taking off towards her room.

He wrenched the door open; Lydia was still thrashing around on her bed in a fit of panic. He scanned the room in search of the source of the danger but the room was empty aside from the two of them. He made his way to her bed, his hands clasping her forearms and trying to steady her.

Her body stilled and she laid there motionless for a moment. Her eyes slowly opened and she looked to him, they grew in surprise when she realized who was seated on her bed with her.

“Isaac,” she shrieked in surprise, “How did you get in here?”

He noted that her voice was hoarse and her face looked tired, “Lydia you were screaming,” he informed her, “We thought that you were being attacked.”

Her face scrunched in confusion, “We?” she asked.

“Uh yeah, Derek and Scott are outside waiting,” he said.

She looked around the room and then her eyes fell back to where his hands were still clasped around her arms. He caught her staring and quickly removed his hands, both their faces reddening.

“We should uh, go tell the others that you’re alright,” he said sheepishly. She nodded and removed the sheets, searching for a coat. She found one draped over the chair in the corner of the room, as she slid it on she noticed Isaac staring at her, his eyes quickly darted away from her, his ears turning pink.

“Shall we?” she said, motioning for the door. He nodded awkwardly before escorting her out of the house, his hand barely touching her back.

When they made it outside she saw Derek and Scott standing on her front lawn. Derek was giving her a hard glare; he almost looked perplexed by her. It was like he wasn’t sure whether to be threatened by her or concerned. Scott had his usual look of concern though, his face relaxing when he saw that she was fine.

“Before you ask,” she stated, holding up a hand to silence Scott, “I don’t know what happened back there. All I know is that I was sleeping and then I had this strange dream and then the next thing I know I am waking up to this guy in my room,” she said, gesturing to Isaac, who actually looked quite embarrassed.

“A dream?” Scott questioned, “What was it about?”

She thought back to the dream that she had, had and shuddered. It had all felt so real, from watching the beast tear Isaac apart, to it then coming at her.

“I’m not sure,” she said in a small voice, “It was so real though, like I was actually there.”

“Like a vision?” Derek asked, though it sounded more like a statement rather than a question. She looked at him and saw that he was staring at her thoughtfully, like he knew something that she didn’t.

“It was strange though, I saw, I saw all of you, though you were dead,” her voice wavered as the memories flooded her, the way that they’d all been lying there motionless.

“Dead?” Issac muttered to himself.

“That’s not all,” she continued, “There was this beast.”

“A beast?” Derek asked, his tone snarky.

“Yes a beast,” she snapped back, “It was first two people, werewolves because they looked like you,” she said motioning to them, “But then they morphed into this giant creature.”

“Is that even possible?” Isaac asked, both Scott and him were focused on Derek for an answer. She assumed he must have the most knowledge about this kind of stuff. Out of all of the werewolves, at least the ones that she knew of, she figured out that Derek had the most experience and knowledge out of all of them since he hadn’t been turned but rather born this way.

“I’ve never heard of anything like it,” he answered truthfully.

“So then it was just a dream,” Isaac stated plainly.

“But it felt so real,” Lydia cried, “It felt like it was trying to tell me something, like a warning.”

“Yes but Derek just said that something like that isn’t possible,” he said, trying to reason with her.

“No,” she said firmly, “He said that he’d never heard of anything like it, that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible.”

“Look Lydia, I am happy that you are safe. But we don’t have the time to go chasing after dreams when we already have our hands full with the hunters,” he replied.

She looked to the others and Scott seemed to agree with Isaac, Derek still looked thoughtful. She looked back to Isaac that was looking at her with something verging on pity and sympathy.

“You don’t believe me,” she whispered.

“Lydia that’s not,” he started but she cut him off.

“No, you don’t believe me, you think I’m crazy or something,” she accused.

“I don’t think you’re crazy,” he replied firmly, “But I do believe that you had a very active dream that.”

She pursed her lips as she searched his eyes. She’d thought that he of all people would believe her, after their talk earlier she’d began to let herself believe that her feelings for him weren’t completely one sided. But as she stared at him now she could see that he truly didn’t believe her, that he was simply dismissing her worry.

“Fine then,” she huffed, “Don’t believe me.”

She turned and began making her way back to her house; she could hear the leaves crunching behind her as Isaac followed.

“Lydia please, just try to see reason here.”

“Reason?” she scoffed.

“You can’t expect us to go chasing after a nightmare Lydia,” he stated.

“I don’t expect that,” she said, stopping on the porch and turning to look at him, “But I did hope that you wouldn’t just dismiss me.”

“Lydia please,” he said, though she wasn’t sure what he was asking of her. He clearly didn’t want to believe her when she said that there was something more to her dream, that there was a warning in what she saw.

She shook her head, “Just go Isaac,” she said before turning to go into her home. She went to the front window and tried to peek through the curtains, she saw the three of them huddled together before finally taking off into the woods.

Isaac paused to look back at the house; she quickly turned away from view. She tried to ignore the tears that were welling in her eyes. They were all from the mix of emotions that were coursing through her.

Partially from the dream that she’d had, it had been so real and it left a cold feeling within her; the other part from the hurt that she felt at Isaac’s disbelief. From the very beginning since she’d first encountered werewolves her biggest worry was being considered crazy and there Isaac had been, confirming her worry. She hoped that it had been just a bad dream, but the way that those red eyes still burned in her mind she knew better.

It was a warning, danger was coming. 


	8. Chapter 8

It had been a few days since the incident and Lydia still couldn’t shake the feeling of hurt every time she’d find Isaac’s worried stare. She figured that they’d told the others, what with the way Stiles had confronted her the following day.

“You’re supposed to tell me about these things,” he said as he leaned against the locker beside her.

“Why? So you could tell me what a loon I am too?” she asked coldly.

He immediately straightened and the look in his eyes was so sincere that it made her glare soften as he spoke, “I believe you Lydia,” he said honestly, “Whatever you saw, for whatever reason you saw it, it has to mean something.”

A soft smile graced her lips as she looked to him, “Thank you Stiles.” That was all she could think to say because the enormity of his words was almost too much. All she’d wanted was for someone to validate her feelings, to let her know that she wasn’t crazy, that what she saw in her dream actually meant something.

“So what do you think it means?” she asked as she shut her locker, stuffing her English book into her bag.

“Now that I don’t know,” he said with a sigh. She nodded in understanding; she was still so new to all of this supernatural stuff so she was having a hard time piecing it all together.

“I do think we can all agree that it sure doesn’t mean anything good is coming our way,” he added as they began to walk down the hall. It was that conclusion that she had come to too. And it frightened her, the idea that danger was lurking just ahead of them.

Stiles hadn’t been the only one to believe her; Allison had come to her later that day telling her that she too thought the dream meant something.

Allison and her hadn’t been spending too much time with each other since Lydia had discovered the secret of werewolves and hunters and the supernatural in general. They’d skirted around each other for some time. Allison had been the one to break the awkward tension by asking Lydia to go bowling with her. The pair had, had a fun time and Lydia wasn’t at all surprised when Scott and Stiles had coincidentally decided to go bowling the same night as the rest of them.

It was nice to have things be somewhat normal again, or as normal as a life of knowing about the existence of supernatural creatures could be.

There was still something left to be desired. That something was a certain curly headed werewolf who was adamant on avoiding Lydia. It’s not like she desperately wanted to talk to him either, except that she did. She was torn; she wanted to forgive him, to convince herself that he was right and that her dream had been nothing more than an overactive imagination. But it had been so real and felt so ominous that what she wanted even more was for him to believe her.

That’s what brought her to where she was now; currently leaning against her locker as Aiden, she believes is his name, leans too close to her. He’s new here; she knows that much and he has a twin brother.

He is staring down at her with a cocky smirk, like he just thinks he’s so charming. Though she can’t deny that he is just a bit charming with his bright eyes and dimpled grin. She finds herself actually indulging him by listening to him wax on about his motorcycle. As he continues she notices something in her peripheral.

Her head turns slightly as she glances across the hall where Scott and Isaac are standing not even bothering to hide their blatant stares in her direction. Scott looks confused; Isaac has a dark glare setting onto his face. With a huff he slams his locker shut and takes off down the hall. Scott pauses for a moment, staring at Aiden as if he’s trying to solve some mystery.

Aiden seems to notice and looks up to smirk at Scott, which causes the other boy to frown as he hikes his backpack higher up his shoulder before he takes off after Isaac. The tall boy was already at the other end of the hall, it looked to her like his shoulders were shaking as he quickly turned the corner out of sight.

The warning bell rang abruptly startling her, “I’ve got to get to class,” she says as she pushes off from the lockers, “It was nice meeting you.” She doesn’t bother saying anything as she took off down the hall to Mr. Harris’ class.

*

“Isaac,” Scott whispered from behind him, trying for the fourth time to get his attention.

“What’s his problem?” Erica asked as she took her usual seat next to Isaac.

“I don’t know,” Scott replied. Isaac was breathing heavy, his mind flashing back to moments ago when he’d witnessed Lydia getting cozy with that one new kid. He’d only been aware of him and his brother because of the strange feeling he got when he was near them.

Isaac had tried to use his werewolf senses to try and detect whether or not they were like him, but he’d come up with nothing. That didn’t stop the cold feeling he got when near them.

So seeing him with Lydia just didn’t sit right with him. He tried hard to convince himself that the reason he was so upset was because he didn’t trust the kid and didn’t want anyone else getting hurt. Though there was another part of him that told him the real reason he was so upset was because he didn’t like the idea of anyone cuddling up to Lydia.

It had been torture enough seeing the hormonal idiots who trailed around her like lost puppies. He’d made sure to fix them with murderous glares that seemed to get them to back off. This time around though there was just something worse when it came to Aiden being the one that was after Lydia because for whatever reason there was something up with the kid and Isaac didn’t trust him.

He stiffened when he caught Lydia’s scent as she entered the class. His gaze stayed fixed on the board in front, his body seeming to shake even more.

It was the fact that when she seated herself in front of him as usual, he could smell her sweet scent as usual, but mixed with it was something unusual and entirely unwanted on his part. That was the final straw; he abruptly stood from his chair, Harris pausing mid-lecture to fix him with a cold stare.

“Mr. Lahey is there a reason you’re out of your seat?” he questioned.

“Yeah, gotta go to the bathroom,” he mumbled dismissively as he quickly raced out of the stifling classroom.

Once he was free from the confines of the room he allowed himself a relieved breath. It was cut short when he took note of certain brunette making his way down the hall towards him. Aiden paused a moment when he was near him, a knowing smirk pulling at his lips. It was like he could sense just how much Isaac disliked him and he found it amusing rather than cause for worry.

Which was really all he needed to justify his following actions, he grabbed the boy and in a quick movement had him shoved up against the lockers.

“Who are you?” he hissed as he gripped tighter on his shirt, Aiden’s feet her barely skirting the floor as Isaac hoisted him higher up the lockers.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he teased. Isaac snapped then and threw the boy to the floor, not even allowing him a moment to right himself before he was on him once again. After one sickening punch to the face he found himself unable to stop, allowing his wolf to take further control of his actions as he continued to pummel the smug bastard.

He’d become so engrossed in what he’d been doing that he hadn’t even noticed the crowd of students spilling out of Harris’ class. And he didn’t stop his assault on Aiden until someone was grabbing his shoulder and tearing him off the boy. Scott pushed him against the lockers in an effort to stave him off, though he fought his grip for a moment until he finally came back to himself, taking in the scene before him.

Aiden was slumped on the floor, blood oozing out of his nose and smearing across his lips. His fellow classmates stood in various states of horror and disbelief.

“Lahey, Principals office now,” Harris barked at him. Scott finally let go of his death grip on Isaac’s arm, helping him to right himself. As he glanced over to where the group was standing he caught sight of Erica’s murderous glare, he can only assume that Scott had filled her in.

But it wasn’t the blonde’s murder eyes that had him freezing. It was the look of disbelief, verging on horror that was plastered on Lydia’s face. Her eyes were transfixed on the spot where Danny was helping Aiden to his feet. Her eyes snapped up to catch his and she looked at a loss. He huffed out a deprecating laugh before turning away from them and making his way to the Principal’s office. Derek was bound to be pissed when he hears about this he thought to himself.

Though even the prospect of a pissed off Alpha wasn’t what frightened Isaac, it was the look that Lydia had on her face. It was almost as if he’d confirmed questions she hadn’t necessarily thought to ask when she’d learned about werewolves and now he’d just given her answers.

Werewolves were in fact dangerous and so was Aiden, whatever he was. Werewolf or not, the feeling the boy left with him was enough to cause uneasiness. When he got back to the loft he’d make sure to inform Derek of all of this. 

And he hoped for Lydia’s sake that she caught on quickly and stayed away from the other boy. Because though Isaac knew just how dangerous werewolves were. He had no clue how dangerous Aiden could be, not yet.

*

Lydia was mad, most definitely mad. The stunt Isaac had pulled at school that day was completely unacceptable. Really, who did he think he was? First giving her the cold shoulder and then beating up some guy that gives her an ounce of attention. Yes, she was indeed mad.

After it had happened Lydia had tried to find Isaac but came up empty. She figured once she didn’t see Erica or Boyd that they’d all ditched for the rest of the day, probably ordered by Derek. Though she was beginning to notice a pattern with the werewolves where they tended to do as they pleased, skipping school being a big one.

Obviously their alpha wasn’t teaching them well. That self-entitled attitude is what led them to do stupid things like beat the crap out of the new kid. Though she did have to admit that she’d caught sight of Aiden later that day and he looked as if nothing had happened, no bruises or anything. Which she thought was strange because she’d seen the blood that was smeared across his face and dripping down his chin, surely that kind of beating would have left some kind of mark.

She sighed to herself and closed her laptop, she really needed to get that history essay done but she simply couldn’t concentrate. Not with the millions of thoughts going through her head, most of them being unanswered questions. She thought that with being in on the group’s big secret that things would start making sense and that she wouldn’t have to feel confused anymore. But that proved wrong as she undressed and readied for bed, the questions still swirling in her mind.

She tried to shut them out as she closed her eyes. Not having realized just how tired she was when she easily drifted off.

                                                                             *

The room was dark and she could hear something crackling in the darkness. She moved her foot to go forward and was met with a cold splash against her leg. When she looked down she realized that she was ankle deep in water; which didn’t make any sense. She could tell that she was indoors; it looked like a loft, very spacious but bare.

A noise finally caught her attention and caused her head to snap up. She was face to face with three snarling werewolves, the front one’s eyes glowed red while the other two were a brilliant gold. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness the figures came more into focus and she gasped as she finally recognized them. Derek stood tall with Isaac and Boyd on either side of him.

None of them paid her any mind. In fact it was as if they were looking past her at something else. Just then the large metal door flew open and Derek crouched ready to lunge at the intruder.

Lydia lurched back as quickly as she could to avoid the oncoming attacker.

As she moved back she was thrown into someplace new. This time it looked a parking garage. There were cars all around her. It took a moment for her breathing to slow down enough for her to focus in on the sound coming from behind some cars.

She slowly followed the noise, it sounded like someone was injured. As she neared the noise she saw a girl bent over a figure, she was holding jumper cables in either of her leather clad hands. In a quick movement she was latching them onto the body on the ground, causing him to jolt upwards. As he did this she got a good look at his face and was horrified to see Isaac’s glowing gold eyes looking right through her in agony.

The moment was short as she found herself suddenly in the woods, having to duck quickly to avoid the two figures barreling past her. It was two werewolves, one a man the other female, though she couldn’t make out their faces. They were fighting one another, though it looked more like for dominance than anything else.

The women suddenly gripped the man by the throat and launched him in Lydia’s direction. Her hands flew up instinctually to shield her from the oncoming attack.

Her hands slowly moved down as she realized she was no longer in the woods. This time she couldn’t tell where she was, it all looked hazy. But she could make out a figure standing in front of her. It was a battered Derek; in his arms was a girl, her blond hair falling over his bloodied arms. She took a few cautious steps forward, though Derek didn’t react to her presence at all.

As she got closer to them she suddenly felt a cold chill run through her. She was terrified to look down at the girl in his arms, afraid of whom it could be. Finally she braced herself, taking in one deep breath before finally peering down to see who it was.

She felt sick, frightened mostly as she the girls face came into view. The blonde hair had turned a reddish hue; the girl’s skin was pale and bloodied. And her face, her face was undeniably recognizable.

Lydia felt the tears run down her cheeks as she stared down at her own corpse, her dead eyes unmoving as they stared blankly at nothing.

Suddenly with a jolt Lydia sat upright in her bed, a shriek piercing the silence of the night. She could already feel the tears streaming down her face, just as they had been in her dreams. Her breathing was uneven and she felt like she was on the verge of breaking into hysterics as the images burned in her mind.

She remembered Isaac’s battered body in the parking garage, the flooded loft. And the dark woods with the snarling werewolves. The last part she tried hard to push out of her mind.

She knew now more than before that what she’d seen had been more than a dream. All of it had been like she was watching snippets of a movie play out before her. The ending had been the most bone-chilling.

She just hoped now that it had happened again that the others would be more inclined to listen to hear her. Especially since it seemed most imperative now that they did seeing as it felt more than before like their lives were in grave danger. Hers included.

She needed them to believe her this time. She needed _him_ to believe her. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr is not letting me post anything and I finished this part so I will be posting it here for the time. Maybe edit it later to add the second part or just make that a part of another chapter. Not sure yet.

The wind was beating hard against her car; it seemed unseasonably windy considering it was only September. Lydia peered out the windshield trying to make out any shapes in the distance but it was hard considering the amount of leaves flying around. The weather was indeed strange.

The passenger door was suddenly thrown open and Lydia jumped, screaming in surprise.

“It’s just me,” Isaac said as he slipped in. She held a hand to her rapidly beating heart as she took a few calming breaths.

“Have I ever mentioned that I am not a fan of surprises?” she asked breathlessly as her heart rate began to go back to normal.

“No, but I will keep that in mind,” he said as he offered her a smirk. She rolled her eyes at him even though there was a part of her that enjoyed that little smirk of his.

“So,” he drawled, “Care to explain to me why I was awoken at one in the morning to come and meet you in a Wal-Mart parking lot?”

She looked at him and saw that he didn’t look as annoyed as he tried to make himself sound, she could see the concern on his face.

“Isaac,” she started slowly, “I had another dream.”

“A dream? Like the last one?” he asked.

She nodded slowly, “Yes, but this one was more real, Isaac it was like I was watching a movie, like everything was playing out right in front of me.”

“Lydia,” he said so softly that she knew exactly what would come next.

“No Isaac, you don’t get to call me crazy or delusional,” she said sternly, “I know what I saw.”

He pursed his lips as he looked out of the windshield. Lydia watched him for a moment before fully turning her body to him, grasping one of his hands. It was surprisingly warm considering the cold chill outside. Isaac seemed surprised by the contact because he looked down at their clasped hands in a sort of awe. She thought for a moment that he might try and pull his hand away, but instead he gripped hers tighter.

“I don’t think you’re crazy Lydia,” he whispered. She could hear the implied but.

“But you don’t believe me,” she stated. Isaac didn’t say anything; instead he began to rub soothing circles onto her hand.

“There’s just little evidence to prove your point,” he reasoned.

“Isaac I don’t know why I am having these dreams or what they even mean,” she was close to tears, all she wanted for him to believe her, “But I know that they are trying to tell me something.”

“And what’s that?” he asked.

“Isaac, I think we’re, I mean you all, I think you are all in danger,” she said.

“In danger of what,” he questioned, sitting up straight and gripping her hand tighter. Lydia could feel the hope flicker in her as she began to think that maybe he was actually starting to see reason in her dreams.

“I’m not sure of what, I think other werewolves though,” she stated eagerly.

“What exactly did you see Lydia?” he asked slowly.

“Just short bits of things, like you and Derek and Boyd standing in a large room that was full of water, and there were two wolves fighting in the woods,” she explained, though stopped short as she thought of the other two bits she’d seen.

“And?” he urged.

“And you, I saw you and someone else, they were trying to revive you, it looked like you were hurt,” she said, again choosing to withhold some details of her dream.

“Was there anything else?”

She paused, unsure whether to tell him of the last thing she’d seen. It had been shaken her to see her own dead corpse lying there, she still wasn’t sure what that had meant.

“There was a girl,” she said finally, “Derek was holding her, it didn’t look like she was alive.”

“Did you see who it was?” he asked. She shook her head and he nodded slowly.

“Lydia I still don’t think these were visions,” he stated, she looked at him with wide eyes but he rushed to continue, “But there is a chance that they could be trying to tell us something more.”

“Like what?” she asked.

“There have been some strange things going on here,” he explained, “Things that we’ve been trying to track down.”

“Like other werewolves?”

“I think so, or it could be worse,” he said, the memory of the feeling Aiden had left with him was still fresh in his mind.

“So should we tell the others then?” she asked, relieved that at least he was willing to give her some credit.

“Lydia I said that I thought they could possibly mean something, but there’s really no use in worrying over the others over a possibility,” he explained, he sounded almost pacifying, like he was trying to reason with her without outwardly saying she was wrong yet again.

Lydia felt the hope die in her just as quickly as it had blossomed.

“How is that you can claim to be on my side and yet still not believe me?” Her voice was almost a yell as she abruptly pulled her hands from his, his eyes widening in surprise at the sudden outburst.

“Lydia,” he started, but she was done, she’d heard enough.

“No Isaac, you don’t get to try and placate my feelings here,” she stated, “You know I really don’t know why I bothered to tell you in the first place, I mean I should have known that this would be how you’d respond.”

“Lydia if you would just let me explain,” he urged.

“No, I don’t want to hear it. I’ve tried being reasonable with you, I’ve tried not to push anything but this is it.”

The car was silent, clearly she’d said more than she had intended to. This wasn’t just about him not believing her. It was about the fact that he only ever seemed to include her when it was convenient for himself. And when things seemed more complicated, or she could tell there was something going on that they were keeping from her, he’d disappear. She’d gotten too attached and was just finally realizing what a mistake it was.

“Just go please,” she said tiredly, she was now feeling just how late it was and just how little of sleep she’d gotten.

He nodded before moving to open the door, pausing with one foot out of the car, “Lydia, I know it’s not my place to ask this, but I need you to stay away from those twins.”

Her brow furrowed as she tried to think of why he’d ask something like that, “Why?” she questioned.

“Just stay away from them,” he said before climbing the rest of the way out and shutting the door behind him.

She watched as he made his way out of the parking lot and then finally disappeared behind the building. She continued to wonder about his parting words to her as she started the car.

She could tell that yet again, there was something that no one was telling her. It made her think back to the final moment in her dream, her lifeless eyes burned in her own mind. She couldn’t help but feel that all of these secrets would ultimately hurt her more than protect her in the end.

She just didn’t know how to tell the others this though, if Isaac’s reaction was anything to go off, she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to get more than just the other humans to believe her, but rather the people who she knew were in real danger.

If her dreams were anything to go off of, they were all in danger. 


	10. Chapter 10

“I am serious Allison, I’m completely fine,” she said as she stuffed another textbook in her locker.

“Lydia, Scott told me that you had another dream,” Lydia looked at Allison who was staring at her with the most sincere looks of concern.

She sighed before closing her locker and casually leaning on it, “I thought you and Scott were avoiding each other,” she said, rather than answering her concerns. Lydia was still nursing her wounded feelings over Isaac’s repeated disbelief in her. She was scared to have anyone else shut her down; she’d even gone so far as to avoid Stiles at school. Allison had finally cornered her at her locker.

“Don’t change the subject Lydia, we’re talking about you here,” Allison said sternly. Lydia rolled her eyes, it was like being lectured by her mom, though she understood where Allison was coming from and couldn’t really be mad at her.

“Look, this hasn’t been easy for me and now I have this added dream, vision, whatever business to the pile of crazy that is my life. So no, I am not completely fine, but I am not going to break like everyone seems to think I will. I can handle myself just fine,” she explained, it had been weighing on her how much she’d had to take in, in such little time. But she was coping and dealing with it, trying to figure out where her place was in her group of supernaturally inclined and badass human friends. Or if she even had a place at all.

Allison seemed to sense what she was thinking and immediately softened, “Lydia, I believe you okay. And I believe that with what you saw we can use that to our advantage.”

Lydia pursed her lips and nodded, “That is if we can get the others to believe me too,” she pointed out.

“Stiles believes you and so does Scott,” she replied. Lydia was appreciative for them and their support in her, but she knew that they weren’t the ones in pressing danger at the moment; they hadn’t been the ones that she’d seen in her most recent dream. It had been Derek’s pack.

“And the others?” she questioned.

Allison’s face fell some at that, “Scott’s working on them,” she tried to sound reassuring but Lydia knew just how skeptical they were.

“And speaking of the troublesome trio,” Allison said, looking over her head at the oncoming group. Lydia turned and saw Erica and Boyd walking especially close to one another while Isaac lingered behind before turning to go to his locker. They briefly made eye contact but he quickly looked away, ducking his head towards his locker. Erica gave her a taunting smirk before turning to say something to Boyd.

Lydia tried her best not to let any of it get to her. Erica was simply being Erica because for whatever reason unknown to Lydia, she had somehow managed to piss off the newly made werewolf. As for Isaac, it was a little harder for her to ignore her feelings of hurt. But that’s what really got to her, the fact that all she felt when she saw him was fleeting hope, followed by the sharp pang of disappointment.

She turned away from them, another pair catching her eye down the hall. She saw the twins practically strutting through the crowded hallway as if they owned the place. Knowing smirks on their faces as girls and some boys, blatantly stared as they passed.

Aiden paused by her locker, Allison looked between the two of them curiously, her gaze steely when she looked to Aiden. The atmosphere was suddenly tense, “Allison you go on without me, I’ll see you in class,” she said, hoping Allison took the hint.

Allison nodded slowly before finally looking away from the staring match that she’d been locked in with Aiden, “Alright, well see you I guess,” she said before making her way down the hall, pausing once to look back at them, her face was a mix of concern and something darker. Lydia shrugged it off as she turned her attention to Aiden.

“So what do I owe this pleasure of your company?” she asked sarcastically.

His smirk only grew at her feigned annoyance, “I was coming to see if you’d like to take me up on that study date,” he said, leaning onto the locker next to her. His eyes staying steadily locked with hers. They were a warm color of brown but there was something there in them, something that made her remember Isaac’s request to stay away from him.

At the thought of Isaac she glanced back to see him sending a death glare Aiden’s way, Erica and Boyd tense at his side. She huffed as she turned back to Aiden, now he decided to pay attention.

“I have something better in mind,” she said as she reached out to grab his hand. He looked down at their laced fingers before offering her an actual smile in response. She smiled back before pulling him away from the lockers.

They passed the trio who were still glaring at them. Isaac suddenly moved towards, “Lydia,” he said with a warning tone. She looked at him, his face was still set in a glare, though she saw his eyes soften as he looked at her.

“I have to go,” she said, before pulling Aiden along. She heard him call her name but continued down the hall, Aiden close by her side.

*

Her legs hit the desk and she ungracefully fell into a half sitting position, she could hear the various items on the desk scatter as they moved frantically on it. Aiden’s mouth was latched to hers, his tongue working its way into her mouth. Her hands clutched his shoulders as she tried to ground herself to what was happening.

This wasn’t necessarily her first kiss. She’d shared an awkward peck with Greenberg at the one and only party she was ever invited to in middle school during a game of spin the bottle. She definitely felt out of her depth here, but Aiden seemed to know what he was doing as he worked his mouth down her neck, sucking lightly at the skin under her ear, causing her to gasp and try to stifle a moan as he moved to suck at the base of her throat.

As he continued to trail kisses along her collar bone, she felt a strange tugging feeling. It was coming from within her, like something was trying to pull at her mind. She recognized the feeling; it was the one she got before she had one of her dreams, though she wasn’t sleeping this time.

She tried to push it away and focus on Aiden’s very skilled mouth and the way his hands were roaming along her sides, but the tugging persisted. This time accompanied by hazy images. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on them, to pull them from her mind. Unlike in her dreams, where they would just appear, now she was fighting to make the images clearer.

She could make out a silhouette, someone standing hunched in a dark room. As she focused more the face became clearer, it was Isaac. His face was twisted into a look of fear and panic. She pulled her mouth away from Aiden’s, trying to pull out more from her mind.

He was trembling as his hands clutched the doorframe; she saw the claws extend from his fingertips as he dug them into the wood. His eyes turning from blue to gold in an instant, they flared with anger as his head contorted before finally growling out, canines long and protruding from his mouth.

The vision cut off and she could feel the tug snap back, like a rubber band that she’d pulled to tight and then released. She gasped as she pulled back completely from Aiden, her hands at his chest keeping him at bay as she tried to control her breathing.

She looked up at him and saw his knowing smirk, “What did you do?” she asked darkly, her fingers curling around his shirt as she gripped him tight. He used his position to push her farther down on the desk, eyes roaming over her face, his smirk growing.

“Only what I was instructed to do,” he answered. Her eyes widened when his eyes flashed red, fangs suddenly growing.

She let out a shriek of terror, it echoed through the school, signaling the others. 

**Author's Note:**

> I won't post as frequent here, depending on how long each of the drabbles are. I am just going to wait for maybe two or three before posting them here. If you'd like to read them regularly you can check for updates at my tumblr http://sanderberry.tumblr.com/


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